Italian shoemakers urge EU to tread carefully on sanctions

BRUSSELS, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Bad relations between the EU
and Moscow have helped cut exports of Italian shoes to Russia by
about a fifth, the sector said in a letter to the EU foreign
policy chief, urging consideration of economic effects before
any new sanctions are agreed.

The EU has imposed measures including economic sanctions in
response to Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region in
March and the months of unrest that have followed. In turn
Russia has taken measures against imports, particularly food.

Footwear has not been specified by either side but Italy's
shoe exports have still been hit by Russian consumers becoming
less keen on pricey imported goods.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has to mediate
between nations that have pushed for more sanctions, and others,
such as her native Italy, which have favoured a softer stance.

Cleto Sagripanti, head of Italian footwear industry
association Assocalzaturifici, which groups brands such as
Salvatore Ferragamo and Tod's, said the body
appreciated geo-political issues but argued the EU could not
ignore the impact the crisis is having on European businesses.

Italy's 6,000 shoemaking companies employ 80,000 people and
in many cases, the small, specialist firms are located in
regions with few alternative sources of employment.

Russia was Italy's fifth-biggest footwear export market in
2013, after France, Germany, the United States and Switzerland,
which re-exports to nations including Russia.

Shoe exports in the first half of this year fell 17.5
percent in volume and 21.4 percent in value from the first half
of 2013. The total value of the sector's exports to Russia for
all of 2013 was 643 million euros ($801 million), according to
the industry body.

In the letter dated Dec. 10, Sagripanti offered to share
data with Mogherini and asked for a meeting to discuss how the
EU can help address "this enormous challenge for our industry".

A spokeswoman for the EU External Action Service, headed by
Mogherini, said the letter had arrived and Mogherini would reply
"in due course".
($1 = 0.8026 euros)
(Additional reporting by Adrian Croft; Editing by David Holmes
and David Clarke)